Perth weather: Sharks, bushfires and 41C just in time for Christmas

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Perth transformed into a festive furnace yesterday as the mercury broke the 40C barrier for the first time in nearly two years.

The first day of the Christmas break was a stinker, with the temperature in the city centre already 30.5C at 8am on its way to a top of 41.2C around 1.30pm. And yesterday afternoon the Bureau of Meteorology upped the sweat factor to 35C for Christmas Day.

Yesterday, the hottest temperature in the State was recorded at Mandora, on the Kimberley coast between Port Hedland and Broome, where it reached a scorching 47C.

It was the hottest Perth day since last Australia Day 2017 when the city recorded a maximum of 42C. Beaches across the State were pumping as thousands took to the ocean in search of an escape from the heat.

For hundreds of swimmers at Swanbourne and North Cottesloe beaches the reprieve came to an abrupt and chaotic end around 1pm when the sound of sirens set off panic in the water.

In scenes reminiscent of a Boxing Day sale, punters sprinted from the ocean en masse, only this time it was a tiger shark doing the shopping.

The tagged shark caused the 90-minute closure of both beaches, just in time to ruin Cottesloe local Jane Wishaw’s swim.

“My toes had just touched the water when the sirens went off, I couldn’t believe the timing,” she said. “(North Cottesloe Beach) is the site where Ken Crew was killed by a shark so I think that was front of mind for a lot of people and there was a bit of a collective panic.”

UK tourist Ian Cherret said he thought Perth was under attack from an air raid when he first heard the sirens, before expressing surprise that a shark could close down the beach.

“Why aren’t there shark nets?” he asked.

A bit further north in Trigg, Santa was spotted swapping his sled for a row boat as he carried out some last-minute reconnaissance along the WA coast ahead of his Christmas Eve deliveries.

Across WA, lifeguards performed five rescues and were required to administer first aid five times but said it was a generally quiet Saturday given the high temperatures and low winds.

Meanwhile, residents and campers west of Bremer Bay on the State’s south coast were warned to evacuate or get ready to defend their properties after a bushfire broke out about 11.20am.

A bushfire watch and act was issued for the Dillon Bay Settlement and all coastal camp sites as the uncontained fire raged in a south-westerly direction after breaking out near the intersection of Borden-Bremer Bay Road and Warramurrup Road in Bremer Bay.

A dramatic picture depicts a towering plume of smoke dominating the horizon from the beach.

The fire, which was caused by lightning, had burned through more than 3600ha by yesterday evening and about 110 firefighters, assisted by aerial support, were battling to control the blaze.

Perth will remain hot and mostly sunny today and tomorrow with a searing top of 35C tipped for Christmas Day. If that temperature is reached, it would be the hottest Christmas Day since 2012, when 39.6C was recorded.

Last year the mercury hit just 32.5C, in a mild summer for Perth with no day over 38C.